The Perfect Getaway, page 13
“I don’t think Brad’s thinking about that too much. You didn’t see Andy today, Natasha. He’s in bad shape… I’ve never seen him so upset.”
Her expression was grim. “That’s how he was last night. It’s bad.” She nudged Jaren’s arm gently. “Hey…”
He jolted awake, looking around. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. We’re going to check and see if Andy and Brad made it home yet.” She paused. “Do you want to come with us?”
“Yeah, yeah,” he said, standing up and adjusting his clothes. “What time is it?”
“After midnight,” I told him.
His jaw dropped slightly as he rubbed his eyes. “And no one’s heard from them?”
“No,” I squeaked, not wanting to show him how worried I was, but I could see the same fear reflected in the tight line of his lips.
“I’m sure they’re fine,” he said. “But yeah, let’s go check.”
We ambled out of the hut, the cool wind much calmer than the night before. The beach had been cleaned like nothing ever happened. Every scrap of stray rubble had disappeared between breakfast and dinner, and the night was eerily reminiscent of our first night. As if nothing had happened at all.
I tried to push the thought from my mind as we checked Andy’s hut, which was empty, then moved to mine and Brad’s, which was also empty. We walked past Nick and Megan’s, noticing the two lumps under their covers. They were sleeping peacefully, unaware of all that was happening. I couldn’t help feeling the bitter sting of jealousy, not at their happiness, but at their peace. I hated fighting with Nick. Hated what he’d accused me of more.
Tears lined my eyes as we continued over the beach, and I refused to look out at the water. If Brad and Andy weren’t at the bar or restaurant, and they weren’t in the gym…where were they? Would I be spending my night searching for them as Andy had for Emily last night? Would my search meet the same grim end?
I couldn’t bear to think of it.
We walked in silence, and I wondered if everyone was thinking the same thing. When we could see the lights from the relaxation center ahead, fear flooded me. They weren’t outside at any of the tables. One less place to check. One less possibility.
“We’ll look inside,” Natasha whispered, as soon as the building came into view.
I nodded, fighting back tears as I moved. If I tried to speak, I was sure I’d let out the sob that was tight in my chest.
We moved past the table that had been cleared since dinner and up toward the door. Jaren reached for it, holding it open so we could pass through it first. To the right was the doorway that led to the spa. Straight ahead was the hallway that led to the gym. To the left, the kitchen. We chose left, turning and walking into the small, restaurant-style dining room, and my heart leapt, relief washing over me.
“Oh, thank God,” Natasha said, taking the words straight out of my mouth. Her voice carried across the quiet room, over the sound of beachy music, reminiscent of what had played on our boat ride over, playing softly from a loudspeaker in the corner of the room. Brad and Andy turned their heads from where they sat at the bar.
“Hey,” Brad said, his cheeks pink the way they looked only after he’d had a few too many drinks. “What’s up?”
“Are you two planning to come home soon?” I asked, glancing out the dark window.
“It’s getting late,” Natasha added. “We were worried.”
Brad glanced at his wrist, though he wore no watch. “What time is it?”
“After midnight,” I said.
He put a hand to his forehead. “Holy shit. No way…” He patted Andy’s back. “We’ve gotta call it a night, man.”
“One more for the road,” Andy said, from where his head rested on the bar.
Brad looked at me, a question in his expression.
“You both look like you’ve had enough,” I said softly. “Let us help you get home.”
“There she goes, Mom-ing again,” Andy sang, lifting his head up sleepily and laying it back down.
“Andy, please—” I started to say.
“I’ll wait with them if you want,” Jaren said. “Make sure they get home safe. I can walk you two home and then come back for them.”
“No,” Natasha said. “I don’t want you walking back alone either. Laura and I will be fine. We should stay in pairs at night.”
Jaren didn’t appear to agree, but he gave in. “Are you sure?”
I chewed my lip, worried as much about Natasha and me walking home alone in the dark as I was about Brad and Andy walking home alone and drunk in the dark or Jaren walking alone, period.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Natasha said, gripping my arm. “But I want all three of you home soon, okay? I’ll wait with Laura at her hut. I’m talking twenty minutes, tops.”
Jaren nodded and leaned in, kissing her lips. She looked as shocked as I did.
“Be careful,” he whispered. “Go straight there.”
Her fingers went to her lips, and she nodded, her eyes growing misty. “We will. I’ll see you in a minute?”
“See you in a minute,” he promised, and I felt Natasha pulling me away. I waited for Brad to worry, to call after me, to say we should wait, but he didn’t. Instead, I watched him hold up two fingers to the bartender, ordering another round.
I ducked my head, spinning around to leave with Natasha, trying to hide the sheer terror I felt as we opened the doors and looked out into the black night.
Deep down, I couldn’t deny the voice in my head saying that this wasn’t a coincidence or bad timing. Something bad had happened to Emily, something worse than an accident, and the longer we stayed on the island, the closer I felt we’d be to meeting the same dreadful fate.
The next morning, I stared at my phone, wishing it would do more than tell me the time, which was 6:07 a.m. My alarm was scheduled to go off in just thirty minutes—I couldn’t bring myself to remove the notification about yoga on the beach every morning this week with Emily.
With a heavy heart and pounding head, I stood from the bed and unplugged my phone, switching off the alarm. I walked up the stairs to use the restroom and brush my teeth, swiped on deodorant, and tiptoed back down the stairs to the first floor. Outside, the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, providing the light I so desperately craved. I wanted to get outside, my legs were itching to move, but I wouldn’t dare when it was still dark.
My footsteps were quiet on the wood flooring, but not quiet enough to keep from waking my husband. He rolled over in bed as I was pulling my workout pants on, one hand on his forehead as he groaned.
“Oh, God.” He released a long, drawn-out sigh and laid his head back down. “I feel like death.”
“Well, I’d imagine so,” I teased, trying to bite down the sting of his word choice. “After a hard night of partying like you were a college kid, not a forty-year-old man, I wouldn’t expect you to feel well.”
He winced, his eyes still shut. “I’m sorry, Lor. I didn’t plan to drink so much.” I watched him prop himself up on his elbows. “Are you mad?”
I pulled the shirt over my head, covering myself with one arm as I maneuvered the sports bra over my shoulders. No one should’ve been up, but that didn’t stop my uneasiness at our open windows, despite being too lazy to shut them for just a second’s change or walk back up the stairs to undress there. “No, I’m not mad. I wish you would’ve given me some sort of heads-up as to what was happening or where you’d be, but I’m not mad.” I pulled a pair of socks from my suitcase and sat down on the edge of the bed to pull them on. “How’s Andy doing?”
He drug his palm over his face. “Not any better than he was, honestly.”
“When are the police supposed to be here?” I asked, pulling on my shoes next. “I thought they’d be here yesterday, but Manu said something about having to send a boat out. I haven’t seen them.”
“We asked, too. Manu said the phone lines are still down, and without a way to contact the catamaran company, they have no way to get to the mainland.”
“You mean there aren’t any other boats here at all? I thought he said something about sending employees back to the mainland when the storm calmed down. I thought they’d already be there and back by now.”
“There is one, but as luck would have it, it’s being repaired right now. When I asked him what they normally do in an emergency if they don’t always have a working boat, he said they have a board-certified surgeon and two nurses on staff here to treat patients in case of an emergency. I guess they didn’t plan to have to leave the island with phones being down, so it wasn’t a priority to get it fixed. According to him, it’s an unfortunate coincidence.”
I scoffed, unable to believe what I was hearing. “It’s a bit more than that, don’t you think? That’s not safe! What about when someone needs to get home? What if there was an emergency with the girls?”
“Well, normally, they’d have the phones, I guess, so getting the catamaran back would only take a day or so. It’s not like this is a normal circumstance, and the resort is new. They’re learning. I’ll bet they never make this mistake again. For now? His words exactly were, the island provides. So, I guess we just wait.”
Once my laces had been tied, I stood up, hands on my hips. “I don’t like that. How long will it be until the phones are back up? This is such a safety hazard.”
He nodded, laying his head back on the pillow once more. “I’m sure they’re working on it as quickly as they can.”
“You don’t seem concerned.”
“The only thing I can be concerned about at this exact moment is making sure I don’t projectile vomit across the room.” He squeezed his eyes closed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
I blew air from my lips, watching as my hair flew up and out of my face. “Okay, well, I’m going for a run before it warms up too much more.”
“Don’t stress, babe. Everything’s going to be okay.”
I nodded, though he couldn’t see me, and even if he could, he had no way of knowing that was true. Everything was far from okay as it was, and I didn’t truly believe that was going to change any time soon.
As I walked out of the hut, I heard him call, “Stay close,” which was further proof that he was just as worried as I was.
I hadn’t run in months, but it was the only thing that worked to relieve my most debilitating stress. I had to move, to free my mind and think only of keeping moving.
I jogged down toward the water until I hit the wet sand, packed enough to run on, popped my AirPods in—incredibly thankful Bluetooth still worked on the island—and began to run.
Within minutes, I felt my stress begin to melt away. It was the most beautiful, miraculous thing, the way my burning thighs made everything else disappear.
The beach was breathtaking in the morning with no one around. As the sun came further above the horizon, I watched its reflection dancing on the waves and saw the silhouettes of birds that crossed in front of it.
It was peaceful and reminiscent of the first morning when we’d boarded the boat, sailing away from the life we’d known and preparing for our long ride to the island—and the first glimpse when it came into view.
I remembered the way I felt, hopeful, but also a bit fearful of what was to come. Why hadn’t I trusted that gut instinct? Why hadn’t I said no to this trip altogether?
But no matter what, whether we’d come or not, Emily would’ve been here, wouldn’t she? She was the one chosen out of what must’ve been hundreds or maybe thousands of applicants. If we weren’t there, would she still be alive?
Maybe, if it was truly an accident. Maybe if something hadn’t upset her, she wouldn’t have tried to swim.
But if it was murder…if someone actually meant to hurt her…I had to believe that us being there or not hadn’t affected her death. Right? Because, if not, that would mean it was one of us who’d killed her, and that wasn’t even an option.
I glanced behind me as a chill ran over my arms, feeling sick to my stomach. I could still see the huts in the distance, though they were getting smaller the farther I got from them.
In the far distance, I could see the tiniest hint of the relaxation center, its lights still off for another hour. The small dots of white lounge chairs speckled the beach. It was completely desolate, except for one dark shadow sitting in the front row of chairs.
I slowed my jogging for a second as I pulled an AirPod away from my ear, the music stopping in an instant. What was he doing? I took in the familiar shape, the face I knew so well as I grew near.
He wasn’t looking up, he either couldn’t hear me or didn’t care that I was coming.
Was he asleep?
Or…dead?
“Andy?” I called, moving faster in a hurry to get to him as the worst possible scenario swam through my head. Please, no.
To my great relief, he looked up finally, staring at me as I made my way to him. I stopped, my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath. His eyes were red and bloodshot. He’d either been crying, still drinking, or both.
“What are you doing out here?” I asked, when he hadn’t said anything.
He jutted his chin toward the ocean. “Emily wanted to watch every sunset while we were here.” His lips quivered, and I was assured the redness in his eyes was from tears. “I couldn’t even make it to the first one. I was tired, jet lagged. I told her there’d be…plenty more.” He sniffed, rubbing the back of his hand underneath his nose.
“Andy, you didn’t know. You can’t keep blaming yourself for what happened. It was an accident—”
“No,” he cut me off sharply. “No, it wasn’t an accident.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Emily didn’t go swimming that night. It wasn’t an accident. Someone murdered her.” He stared straight ahead, conviction in the deep timbre of his voice.
“Y-you don’t know that, though, Andy. You shouldn’t think like that.”
“I do know.” He nodded, swiping a hand under his nose again. “I didn’t want to believe it, but I know what happened to her.”
My blood ran cold. “What do you mean? You know what happened to Emily?” Was he delirious? He didn’t seem to be. In fact, he seemed to be in much better condition than my husband was.
“Yeah, I do.” The answer came out as a dry laugh.
“What is it, Andy? What happened to her?” I asked, sinking down into a crouched position, my hands resting on my knees. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
“It’s complicated,” he said, twisting his lips in thought. “If I tell you, you have to swear you won’t say anything. Not until…not until I’m ready.”
“I swear, Andy.” My heart thudded in my chest, and I wasn’t entirely sure I wasn’t dreaming. What was he talking about? What did he know?
He pushed himself up, pointing toward the woods behind the relaxation center. “Come with me.”
He was walking away before I had a chance to comprehend what he’d said, but I let the words wash over me. “Where are you going?”
No answer came as he continued to walk, headed around the far side of the building. And then, despite every muscle in my body screaming that I should turn the opposite way, despite a nagging voice telling me it wasn’t safe, I followed him.
And then, I disappeared, too.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Nick
I was up by seven without prompting from Megan, my nerves on edge. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stay on the island. I waited on the porch for her, struggling to form thoughts around how worried I felt. I was used to being cool, collected, and in control, so this was entirely new and unwelcome for me.
I kept staring at the place where we’d found the body, just a few yards from where I was sitting. Emily was the first person I’d ever known to die. Both my parents, both sets of my grandparents even, were still alive. Her death shook me to my core, and having to sit around with nothing to do but think of it made it worse.
I wanted answers. I wanted to know the truth.
The sliding glass door opened and Megan walked out, her long hair tied back in a braid. She draped an arm over my shoulder, her lavender perfume surrounding me.
“You couldn’t sleep, either?”
I shook my head. I felt weak for caring so much. Emily meant nothing to me, and I was acting like I’d lost someone I’d known my whole life. I tried to reason that it was the shock of it all that had affected me, but I knew it was more than that. Everything just felt wrong about what had happened. Everything felt wrong moving forward, too.
“I can sleep fine, I’m just having trouble staying asleep for long,” I said.
“Same here.” She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself as she walked around me and took a seat in the empty chair to my left. “Is anyone else awake?”
“I haven’t seen anyone.” As soon as I said it, I heard a voice coming from one of the other huts. We turned our heads, staring out as Brad’s door opened and he peeked his head out. “Spoke too soon… Morning,” I called, waving a hand over my head. He looked terrible—his hair disheveled, eyes red and bloodshot.
“Mornin’, have you seen Laura?” he asked, wincing from the sound of his own voice.
“Long night?” I chuckled. “You look like hell.”
“I feel like it,” he agreed, reaching the side of the hut but not climbing up the stairs. “I was up most of the night drinking with Andy, and apparently I’m not twenty-one anymore. Who knew?”
“Did you ask if we’d seen Laura?” Megan asked, her voice filled with concern, reminding me of the question, too.
Brad nodded, rubbing the back of his head as he stared off down the coastline. “Yeah, she went for a jog an hour ago. I thought she’d be back by now.”
I stood up, placing my hand over my eyes and staring out into the blinding, rising sun. “Did she say where she was going?”
“You know Laura. She likes to run when she’s stressed…which is an understatement for all of us right now. She may have just run farther than I expected.”
